What happened
U.S. overdose deaths declined in 2023 for the first time in five years, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But last year’s 107,543 fatal overdoses, while a 3% drop, marked the third straight year of more than 100,000 deaths.
Who said what
The “progress over the last 12 months should make us want to reinvigorate our efforts” to reduce drug-related deaths, said CDC chief medical officer Deb Houry. The “leveling of the overdose curve” is welcome but the death toll remained “historically high” and not enough people are being treated for their addictions, said Dr. Brian Hurley at the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
The report “did not offer reasons for the drop,” led by a 3.7% dip in deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, The New York Times said. “But naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, has become more widely available,” as have test strips to detect fentanyl.
What next?
The final 2023 overdose numbers will be released in several months, after more state data comes in.